'Why are we not doing more for them?': genocide prevention lessons from the Kindertransport.

OBJECTIVES: Genocide remains one of the most widespread forms of preventable mortality and morbidity for children today. Despite the creation of multiple human rights treaties, genocide has not been eliminated and its effects disproportionally impact children. The Kindertransport was a series of rescue efforts that brought thousands of refugee children to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1940. This qualitative study asks what public health professionals can learn from the prevention efforts of the Kindertransport by examining the experiences and reflections of individuals rescued as children. The specific aims of the study were (1) to analyze qualitatively the impact of the rescue on rescued children; (2) to evaluate the strengths and limitations of the Kindertransport as a prevention effort; and (3) to draw implications for contemporary public health responses to global genocide. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative research study. METHODS: In-depth interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide, were conducted with 27 survivors of the rescue. The data were thematically coded, and excerpts exported and interpreted in reflection of patterns and themes using Dedoose. RESULTS: Five inductive themes emerged from the data related to the broad spectrum of antisemitic persecution: the breakup of families; integration in the UK via the Kindertransport; the challenges of adapting to a new environment; and the implications for global rescue efforts. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the public health community should act to prevent genocide through rapid intervention and rescue; at the same time, the effects of persecution must be addressed and sustained social, emotional, and psychological support must be provided to those rescued.

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT): a public health imperative.

The United Nations adopted an historic international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in April 2013. A 1997 meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates who called for an International Code of Conduct to address the 'destructive effects of the unregulated arms trade' initiated discussions that led to the Treaty. Public health institutions, including the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and nongovernmental health groups such as International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, made adoption of the ATT a public health imperative. The poorly regulated $70 billion annual trade in conventional arms fuels conflict, with devastating effects on global health. The ATT aims to 'reduce human suffering'. It prohibits arms' sales if there is knowledge that the arms would be used in the commission of genocide, attacks against civilians, or war crimes. The health community has much to contribute to ensuring ratification and implementation of the ATT.

Building a peaceful society: origins, prevention, and reconciliation after genocide and other group violence.

The 20th century was a century of genocide and other great violence between groups within societies. Already at the beginning of the 21st century, there have been mass killings, civil wars, violent conflict, and terrorism. This article summarizes influences that tend to lead to intense group violence. It then considers prevention, stressing early prevention--and reconciliation as an aspect of prevention--and focusing on central principles and practices. The principles include developing positive orientations to previously devalued groups; healing from past victimization and promoting altruism born of suffering; moderating respect for authority; creating constructive ideologies; promoting understanding of the origins of violence, its impact, and avenues to prevention; promoting truth, justice, and a shared history; and raising inclusively caring, morally courageous children. Practices related to all of these are also discussed. The article stresses the role of progressive change, that is, of psychological, behavioral, and social evolution, in both extreme violence and positive relations between groups; the role of passive bystanders in the unfolding of violence; and the role of active bystandership in the prevention of violence, in the promotion of reconciliation, and in the development of harmonious societies. It emphasizes psychological processes but notes the importance of creating societal institutions. The author cites findings from both laboratory research and case studies, reviews interventions and their evaluation in Rwanda, and points to the need for further research.

Avoiding genetic genocide: understanding good intentions and eugenics in the complex dialogue between the medical and disability communities.

The relationship between the medical and disability communities is complex and is influenced by historical, social, and cultural factors. Although clinicians, health-care researchers, and people with disabilities all work from the standpoint of the best interest of disabled individuals, the notion of what actually is "best" is often understood quite differently among these constituencies. Eugenics campaigns, legal restrictions on reproductive and other freedoms, and prenatal testing recommendations predicated on the lesser worth of persons with disabilities have all contributed toward the historic trauma experienced by the disability community, particularly with respect to medical genetics. One premise of personalized medicine is that different individuals require different solutions. Disabled persons' experiences are a reminder that these solutions can be best realized by maintaining awareness and sensitivity in a complex ethical and moral terrain. Geneticists should recognize that their research may have implications for those with disabilities; they should recognize the impact of the historical trauma of the eugenics movement, and seek to involve people with disabilities in discussions about policies that affect them. Dialogue can be messy and uncomfortable, but it is the only way to avoid the mistakes of the past and to ensure a more equitable, and healthful, future.

Rituals, social sharing, silence, emotions and collective memory claimsin the case of the Guatemalan genocide / Rituales, comunión social, silencio, emociones y demandas de Memoria Colectiva en el caso del genocidio Guatemalteco

In this article we will review both theory and data pertaining to the emotional effects of collective remembering by means of social sharing and funeral rituals. Data is based on the experience of Guatemalan Mayas, who were victims of a genocide during the nineteen eighties. Results show that that Mayan subjects did not report lower levels of subjective and emotional reactions compared to the Latino community. A finding which contradicts the idea that this is a less expressive and emotional culture. Rituals had a more important buffer effect for Mayas in comparison to Ladino communities. Material losses did not imply, and affect, both groups in the same way. Commemoration activities were most important for those subjects who had been affected by collective massacres. Silence was an adaptive form of coping in the past, although that may not be the case at the present moment (AU)

Este artículo examina la teoría y los datos sobre los efectos emocionales de los procesos de memoria colectiva como los rituales funerarios y la comunión social. Los análisis empíricos se basan en la experiencia de los Mayas Guatemaltecos, quienes fueron víctimas de un genocidio durante la década 1980-1990. Los resultados muestran que los Mayas no declaran menos reacciones emocionales y subjetivas en comparación con los guatemaltecos ladinos. Esto contradice la idea que los Mayas comparten una cultura menos expresiva y emocional. Los rituales tienen un efecto amortiguador más importante para los Mayas que para los Ladinos. Las perdidas materiales han golpeado y afectado a ambas comunidades, ladinos y mayas, de forma diferente. Las actividades de conmemoración fueron más importantes en el caso de personas que vivieron masacres colectivas. El silencio fue una forma de afrontamiento adaptativa, aunque puede no serlo en el momento actual (AU)